over 200 Pacific halibut in Alaska . My biggest was 81 pounds if I remember correctly . I ’ ve caught a 70 , a few from 45 to 60 and a whole bunch from 15 to 40 pounds .

Now a lot of my friends that have spent way less time than me fishing Alaska have true 100 plus pound barn doors . And Steve ’ s clients have caught a big number of 200 plus pounders and several over 300 !

Why haven ’ t I caught a halibut over 100 ? Maybe I stink ? Or maybe luck plays a factor ?

I think both are true . It takes luck to have a big halibut pick off your bait , but contrary to what you might have heard it requires some technique .

When fishing with Steve , halibut are caught two ways , with bait inside the Cook Inlet and on big jigs / swimbaits outside the inlet . The jig halibut are caught incidentally while targeting lingcod so I ’ ll touch on jigging in a bit when I talk about lingcod fishing .

When bait fishing for halibut you ’ ll be working , water ranging from 60 to 300 feet deep with a modified sliding sinker rig . You ’ ll be using from 2 to 4 pounds of weight . The leaders are made of strong cord and are tipped with two size 16 / 0 circle hooks . The main bait used is chunked herring , but occasionally Steve will mix salmon heads into his spread if he thinks really big fish are around .

Tides are huge in the Cook Inlet so the period of time around a tide change is really the only time you can effectively fish for halibut , especially in deep water areas where the larger fish are often found .

Typically , you get to the grounds as the tide is slowing down but still running pretty strong . After anchoring the boat the rods are baited and each angler lowers his rig to the bottom as instructed . Once your gear is on the bottom , you ’ ve got to pump your weight and bait off the bottom every 30 seconds or so . This helps attract the halibut and discourages trash fish from messing with you bait . The first few dozen times you pump the weight up it ’ s pretty easy , but then as you can imagine it gets tougher .

Now , you might think , “ Okay so what if I hook a trash fish ?”

Well that trash fish may be a 200 skate that YOU ’ VE got to reel in against the current … better to diligently pump the rod no matter how tired your arms feel … Okay , you ’ re pumping away , before long a halibut is going to come knocking

and you ’ ll feel a firm TAP , TAP , TAP … The proper approach is to immediately get into a position where you can start reeling WITHOUT lifting the rod tip or giving the fish any slack . With a circle hook , it ’ s the reel that pulls the hook into the corner of the halibut ’ s mouth .

If all goes well the fish will continue to bite . When the tugs get very hard and steady you start reeling and its fish on . This sounds simple but in reality , timing is everything . If Steve is watching the bite he ’ ll tell when to start reeling . If not , you ’ ll figure it out , but you ’ ll miss plenty of fish .

When you hook a halibut large or small , the key to landing them is to fight them as gently as possible . That means steady pressure that is achieved by a steady grind on the reel . Do not pump the rod tip or rest the rod on the rail of the boat as both of these mistakes will cause you to lose fish . If the halibut gets any slack there is a good chance that it will flip its head and toss the hook easy as pie …

As you fish you ’ ll note that the tide is starting to slow down . This marks the beginning of the golden hour of halibut fishing . Of course , at this point , your arms are tired from pumping your weight up and down and fighting several “ shaker ” size halibut .

You can ’ t allow fatigue either physical or mental to affect your technique at this crucial time because it ’ s during the slack tide period when really big halibut bite the best .

Accounting for the time it takes to fight fish or just to crank up and check your bait , you might have time to play out 4 or 5 bites when the tide is slack so it ’ s crucial to bring your A Game to the table .

I ’ ve seen heroes crowned during the slack water period when big fish came over the rail , but I ’ ve seen a lot of hearts broken too , when big fish were lost due to a lapse in technique .

Remember that when the tide is slack there isn ’ t any current , that ’ s good and bad . On one hand , you don ’ t have to fight the fish and the current , but on the downside current helps keep hooked halibut pinned on the hook .

When the current is slow or non-existent it is ultra-critical to keep the line tight at all times when fighting your fish , pumping the rod and creating slack or stopping reeling because of fatigue are the two best ways to lose the fish of your dreams !

Lingcod

An angler fishing with Steve caught the current world record lingcod a few years ago . When working the coastal islands on the edge of the gulf 35 to 50 pound lings are common and fish from 60 to 70 pounds are caught every year . My current personal best was a 61-pound monster !

Steve hooks his lingcod on huge white Kalyn Grubs rigged on one pound jig heads .

If you ’ ve fished for lingcod in California and particularly if you are a good California lingcod stick , you ’ ve got to forget much of what you hold as gospel when fishing with Steve . Yeah let that sink in … When it comes to Alaska lingcod fishing , using a California approach is going to hurt you !

In California , we like bottom contact . In Alaska , the current moves so quickly that you want to avoid bottom contact as much as possible because with a quick drift you ’ ll snag up super quick and Steve hates losing jigs . Not because they are expensive , but because in the wilds of Alaska it ’ s hard to resupply . You can ’ t just call time out and run over to Sportsman ’ s Warehouse … LOL .

The proper approach is to pitch the jig up drift ( you may make the cast or Steve might cast the lure and then hand you the rod ) and spool it to the bottom . As soon as the bait hits the rocks you want to crank it up and swim it 10 to 12 feet ABOVE the rocks . If you feel it tick the bottom , reel … The bottom is very craggy lava and its very snaggy .

Okay , you ’ re fishing and staying out of the snags . You ’ ve got to keep yourself in a body position that allows you to set the hook and reel very quickly .

Sometimes the bites are savage and the fish are easy to hook . Most of the time the bites are signaled by a light fast tug and you ’ ve got only a second to set the hook and get the slack out of the line before the fish spits the bait or shakes the hook .

When jigging you ’ ll see guys set the hook and then hesitate to see if they ’ ve hooked up . Often times they have , but that hesitation allows the fish to headshake and toss the hook .

Lesson learned … Set the hook on any taps , ticks or strange activity and immediately reel and keep on reeling until you are 100 % sure that you missed ….

When you set the hook at the lingcod grounds it might be a big ling , but it could be a halibut or a huge yelloweye rockfish .

The lingcod grounds are about a 70-mile run from the boat launch . This in itself means that you ’ ll only have a few hours at most to actually fish , which is plenty provided you execute !

My mindset is always that I ’ m not going to leave anything on the table . I ’ m not going to miss or lose a big fish …. Sometimes I don ’ t , sometimes I do ….

Silver Salmon

Silver salmon fishing in the Cook Inlet or beyond is a blast , but it ’ s a feast or famine proposition most of the time . If the salmon are there the action is lights out fast . If the salmon aren ’ t there , they aren ’ t there . Last year we got into a big school of salmon blitzing bait on the surface and put 18 fish in the box from about 5 to 14 pounds in 20 minutes !

Steve targets salmon in two basic ways . If they are tearing up bait he tosses 2 to 4-ounce P-Line Laser Minnow jigs at them on steelhead weight gear . This is as fun as it gets !

You toss your jig out 20 to 40 feet and let it fall on a semi-tight line . Generally , a silver will zip up and smash it . If not once it reaches a vertical position you jig it up and down with a short brisk stroke , letting a bit of slack develop as the jig falls . The bites are hard … Set , reel , land the salmon and repeat !

If the salmon are too scattered for jigging , Steve will rig up the jigging rods with 1 to 2-ounce Banana sinkers and slow troll with small rigged herring . This approach requires little technique from you . You just put your bait at the instructed distance back , put the rod in the holder and wait for the bite …

Gear When you visit Captain Steve ’ s you don ’ t need to bring any fishing gear . Steve runs top notch Cousins rods and Accurate 2 speed reels and his gear is dialed in for the kind of fishing he does .

While the lodge has a big selection of raingear for guests to use , I advise you to bring your own rubber boots and Grundens bibs and rain jacket . In addition , you ’ ll want a waterproof daypack , like the ones offered by Grundens for your personal gear .

Be sure to bring a camera and a video camera if you have one . Beyond that you ’ ll need sunglasses , layered clothing , fleece is great , thick socks to wear inside your boots , a knit beanie style hat and a ball cap .

Bring some comfortable clothes to wear back at the lodge while you tell lies to your buddies about the fish you ’ ve caught ….

Finally , don ’ t forget your motion sickness pills or patches and use them . Nobody wants to travel all the way to Alaska only to be handicapped by seasickness .

Big Rainbows German Browns with Cliff Spediacci of

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Cliff and his wife Shirley are full time residents of Eagle Lake and , weather permitting , are available through November to get you on the fish .

Having fished California lakes and reservoirs for over 40 years Cliff & Shirley are eager to share their passion and knowledge with you .

Licensed , bonded and insured , Hook & Ladder Guide Service offers professionally guided Eagle Lake trout fishing trips on beautiful Eagle Lake and german browns , rainbow trout and landlocked king salmon on Lake Almanor . When you book a trip with Hook and Ladder Guide Service , you will be fishing in a 2013 , 23 ft . Duckworth Pacific Navigator boat powered by a 225 H . P . Honda outboard , Minnkota electric motor with ipilot , 4 Scotty electric downriggers , Lowrance Electronics with GPS and VHF radio . The boat has full cover and for cold weather there is even a heater .

For more information about Cliff and Hook & Ladder Guide Service , check them out online at www . hookandladderguideservice . com .